A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a woman accused of murdering Burton's Lisa Bennett and fraudulently claiming her benefits.

The judge issued a bench warrant for Kathleen Salmond to be brought to Birmingham Crown Court, after she failed to answer bail for a pre-trial review hearing on Thursday, August 29, reports Birmingham Live.

Ms Bennett, originally from Burton, was living in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham when she was last seen leaving a pharmacy on May 9, 2013.

She was reported missing by her mother two weeks later, but there has been no trace of her since.

Kevin Flanagan, 39, pleaded not guilty at a previous hearing to a charge alleging that he murdered Ms Bennett in the Weoley Castle area of Birmingham in 2013.

Flanagan also denied preventing her lawful burial and fraudulently claiming her benefit payments.

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The charge for fraud alleges that they falsely represented to the Department for Work and Pensions that Salmond was Ms Bennett, and arranged for the transfer of state benefits into an account in Salmond's name between May 8 and May 31, 2013.

Flanagan, of Redbrook Covert, Kings Norton, Birmingham, was granted conditional bail to appear at the same court for trial on Tuesday, November 5.